[2025 SNU Campus Town Startup CEO] ‘NUSEUM,’ an Evolved Precision Nutrition (Food-as-Medicine) AI Engine

Jiyoung Kim, CEO of NUSEUM

Receives data on health checkups, family history, genetics, medication, and lifestyle habits
Converts personalized diet, food, supplement, and healthcare recommendations into real-world actions

“Last year was marked by rapid advances in AI and LLMs (large language models) around the world. With no choice but to adapt to the changing times, NUSEUM has been conducting ongoing research and testing to implement the most evolved AI solutions. What started as a commerce platform that provided personalized nutrition information has evolved into NUSEUM, a precision nutrition (food-as-medicine) AI engine. This engine takes data on health checkups, family history, genetics, medication, and lifestyle habits, and provides personalized diet, food, supplement, and healthcare recommendations in the form of real-world actions. Beyond providing simple information, we’re conducting R&D with the aim of developing our engine into an agentic AI that can perform real-life interventions by linking with smart devices and operating in embedded form on our partners’ platforms.”

NUSEUM is startup engaged in personalized healthcare commerce. It was founded in October 2023 by CEO Jiyoung Kim (49).

The biggest competitive advantage of the NUSEUM precision nutrition AI is its ‘actionable precision nutrition solutions based on global food data and scientific evidence.’ “We don’t simply collect food data, we precisely map out the chronic disease management needs and health concerns of real users on the basis of clinical literature and global guidelines from the highest authorities in the field, such as the WHO, NEJM, Lancet, and so on.”

Notably, the company is improving its personalized recommendations by using the NOVA food categorization system. NOVA is an international standard that classifies foods into five categories: natural or minimally processed foods, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods, and ultra-processed foods. These categories are widely used to distinguish degrees of processing and health impacts, and NUSEUM uses them to reduce the overconsumption of ultra-processed foods and propose more appropriate options instead.

“Even now, we are looking at foods and beverages from around the world and creating a database of products with high potential for precision nutrition applications. This will allow users to receive safe and actionable food, supplement and recipe recommendations that take into account their health issues, medications, and even allergies. Unlike existing diet apps, universal LLMs, or low-cost medical AI, NUSEUM is providing consumers with a trustworthy, personalized health experience, and partners with increased sales and improved user loyalty, by leveraging its three competitive advantages: global guidelines, a NOVA classification database, and actionable AI recommendations.”

NUSEUM is exploring the market with a multi-tier approach spanning experts, general users, governments, and industry groups. The company is developing the engine into a precision nutrition consultation tool that can be used by doctors, pharmacists, and purveyors of health functional foods during patient and customer consultations, and is working to integrate checkup, medication, and nutrition data to offer personalized diet and product recommendations.

“At the same time, health-conscious general users can also enjoy a personalized nutrition experience with NUSEUM DOCENT, which has expanded organically into delivery, commerce, insurance, and healthcare services. While I can’t give the names of the organizations, we are contributing to precision nutrition-related policies and public healthcare strategies by participating in governmental advisory activities and serving on public-private consultative bodies. Also, we are currently pursuing PoC and partnerships in the food delivery, online shopping, department store, insurance, healthcare platform, and diagnostic industries. Our key strategy is to create precision nutrition features within our partners’ services through B2B embedding and APIs, and at the same time, we are planning to connect with users directly through B2B2C and B2C models.”

The company’s marketing channels include invitational lectures at domestic associations and institutions, its newsletter (which has recorded an open rate as high as 59%), and the NUSEUM Salon, which shares information on healthy eating habits, wellbeing and related topics, as well as various digital channels such as LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.

NUSEUM is hoping to attract KRW 500 million in seed investments and has been valued at KRW 5 billion. “The funding we’ve procured will be directed towards PoC activities in the U.S., product advancement, and addressing regulatory and patent issues, and we’re preparing for series A financing in the near future. We are also preparing for follow-up investment in connection with the Deep-tech/Global TIPS programs.”

NUSEUM operates on five axes: research, data, markets, content, and the CEO’s office. The company is led by CEO Jiyoung Kim, a PhD in toxicology and former research professor specializing in nutritional physiopharmacology at Seoul National University. The tech lead is Minwoo Cho, a former CTO at Rovigos, the data architect lead is Eungyeong Lee, a former chef at Lotte Hotel, and the operations lead is Seongmi Yoo, a former researcher at Seoul National University. Global interns from the U.K., Scotland, France, Australia, etc., are also participating in AI competitor analysis, market research, and the compilation of literature data.

Regarding future plans, CEO Kim said, “NUSEUM DOCENT will officially launch in the second half of 2025,” and added, “After this, our goal is 10 partnerships/PoCs in the domestic and global markets, and more than 50,000 regular users.”

Date of Establishment: October 2023
Main Business: Developing a precision nutrition AI engine and embedding it in partner platforms (food-as-medicine AI inside)
Performance: Registered a patent for a ‘personalized diet recommendation system and method’ in May 2025, 2025 Shinhan Open Innovation Woowa Brothers Outstanding Collaboration Team, expected launch of NUSEUM DOCENT in October 2025, selected for the 2025 TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 Startup Battlefield 200

reporter jinho lee
jinho2323@hankyung.com